Shake up the ShowerStick to loosen the resin, then regenerate and use a hardness test kit or strips to see if the water is soft.

Please see our Shipping Policies page for a list of countries we ship to and the cost.

• Select PayPal at Checkout
  • When you reach the payment screen, select PayPal as your payment method (even if you’re using a credit card).
• Proceed to the Next Screen
  • After selecting PayPal, you’ll be redirected to a screen where you can enter your credit card details directly. This allows you to use your credit card without needing a PayPal account. Click on the link to pay “With Debit or Credit Card”

The frequency at which you need to regenerate your ShowerStick is largely determined by the hardness of your water and your water pressure.

1. Water Hardness:
   
   • The average water hardness in the U.S. is about 10 grains per gallon.
   • However, if you live in California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, or other areas with extremely hard water (14+ grains), your water is likely much harder. This means you’ll need to regenerate the ShowerStick more often. For a more detailed breakdown of regeneration times based on water hardness, refer to the chart on our ShowerStick page.
   • Many countries outside the U.S. (like Canada and the UK) also usually have very hard or extremely hard water, so the same applies there.
2. Water Pressure:
   
   • Your water pressure also affects how often regeneration is needed. So the higher your water pressure, the more often you’ll need to regenerate.
   • If you’d like to reduce your water pressure to conserve your soft water temporarily while you’re shaving or shampooing for example, you can install a Flow Control Valve (available in our store) which installs between your shower head and hose.
   • Be sure to keep the green flow restrictor inserted in the female end of the mount that comes with the ShowerStick. It will limit the flow to 1.8 gpm.
3. How to Determine Your Water Hardness:
   
   • Your local water district should provide an online annual Water Quality Report, but your water could be harder than what’s reported. To get an accurate measure, try a Hardness Test Kit made by Hach, which is available online.
4. How Water Hardness Affects Regeneration:
   
   • For example, if your water hardness is 14 grains, you’ll get about 41 minutes of soft water before needing regeneration. For 10 grains, you’ll get about 60 minutes. Please see the chart on our ShowerStick page.
5. Why You Need to Regenerate More Often:
   
   • The ShowerStick is a compact unit designed for individual showers, which limits the amount of resin it can hold. While a whole-house softener can last for weeks between regenerations, the ShowerStick’s smaller size requires more frequent regenerations to keep your water soft.
6. Tips for Efficient Regeneration and Conserving Soft Water:
   
   • Use Table Salt: Always use plain or iodized table salt (e.g., Morton’s or any store brand). Avoid coarse salts (like sea salt, kosher salt, or water softener salt), as they don’t dissolve well (and water softener salt contains sediment which only a whole house softener is able to remove.
   • Salt Dissolution: If there’s some undissolved salt at the bottom of your regeneration bottle, it’s normal. Just add a little more water, shake, and pour. Warm or hot water will dissolve salt faster—but don’t use boiling water.
   • Use the Right Amount: For regeneration, use one cup of table salt in one liter of water. This concentration is necessary for optimal ion exchange of the resin.
   • Use a Flow Control Valve: Add our Flow Control Valve to conserve soft water by temporarily lowering water pressure while shaving or lathering. It installs between the shower head and hose.
   • Regenerate When Needed: You can regenerate at any time, depending on how soft you want the water. Some users with extremely hard water (e.g., 20-30 grains) might regenerate when the hardness reaches 6 grains, while others with sensitive skin (e.g., eczema) might prefer regenerating when hardness is around 1-2 grains. But most people regenerate by 3 grains, since soft water is 0-3 grains.
   • Regeneration Reminder Tip: If you’re showering and the water starts to feel like it’s not as soft anymore, after showering, lay the shower head/hose on the floor as a reminder to regenerate before your next shower.
7. How to Tell When to Regenerate:
   
   • Test Strips: If the test strip turns yellow, the water is soft. If it starts to show the orange color, it’s time to regenerate.
   • Feel and Lather: Over time, you’ll also notice when the water feels less “slippery” or when soap/shampoo doesn’t lather as well. These are signs that regeneration is needed.

Yes, it uses the same resin beads and technology (“ion exchange”) as any salt based water softener and provides the same quality soft water for your shower as any softener can.

We decided to post this Q&A because we’ve been asked this question countless times by people who have become frustrated after spending a lot of money on various shower filters that don’t give them the results they’re looking for. To soften water, you need to use a large volume of resin, much larger than would ever fit inside a filter the size of your hand. Even if resin was ever put inside a filter cartridge, it would be such a small amount that it would only soften the water for a few minutes then it would never soften water again since you wouldn’t be able to regenerate it. Many people have been misled because when some of these companies set up their listings they include keywords or phrases such as “soft water”, “soft water effects”, “soft skin”, etc. and you’ll end up on their site or listing thinking that’s what their product does. But it doesn’t. And many people aren’t aware of what soft water really is or that filters don’t in any way soften water or that there’s more to improving your water quality other than just filtering it. Unfortunately, there are companies who take advantage of people and aren’t always truthful regarding what their product can do (and some of them don’t really understand what the product they’re selling does). They want to sell their product plain and simple. You can challenge them and ask, “If I use a hardness test with your filter, will it show it’s removing hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium?” If their response is “yes” and you take a chance and buy it but find out otherwise, will they pay for return shipping if you decide to return it (which could be expensive international shipping) if their posted return policy says they won’t? Even the largest internet retail company in the world (no need to mention their name) won’t do anything about the companies who sell on their site and falsely advertise what their product can do. (This company doesn’t even require their sellers to show where their products are being shipped from.) So, it’s hard to know who to trust and what information (especially on the internet) is true or accurate. But we as consumers must do the best we can to do research and educate ourselves prior to making purchases and we need to do what we can to be sure a company is legitimate. Otherwise, we may end up getting ripped off. Luckily there are companies that exist who really care about helping people and giving honest and accurate information, and we are one of them. We will always answer your questions thoroughly and give you examples or information to backup what we’re saying. For example, if you aren’t convinced that a shower filter isn’t capable of softening water, we’d let you know that you can use any hard water test kit and it will show no difference in the hardness of water after you add a filter. Only a softener can do so. And only if it’s a softener that’s regenerated with salt water (works via Ion Exchange). There are two ways to soften the water in a shower: install a whole house water softener or a portable shower water softener, like the ShowerStick: ShowerStick

Although the ShowerStick costs more to purchase initially than a shower filter, it costs a lot less in the long run. Think about how much you spend yearly on shower filters and multiply that number by 10. Ten years is the average lifespan of the ShowerStick, so it ends up costing far less over a 10-year period and it does so much more than a filter. It also contains more than 10 times the amount of material than what’s inside a shower filter. And, included with the ShowerStick is a handheld shower head and hose, a shower arm mount (the cradle that holds the head) and test strips.

Soluble iron (ferrous iron – which is clear) is likely to be removed by a softener, but “precipitated” iron (ferric iron – which is a rusty brown orange color) often slips right through the resin. If the pH of the water is below 7, a softener will likely remove iron but if it’s over 7, results may not be good since ferrous iron converts to ferric iron faster in higher pH water. If the pH is above 7, you should consult with a water treatment company who can test your water and make recommendations based on the results. If you purchase the ShowerStick and you have a lot of iron in your water, we recommend that you backwash the resin more frequently than normally required. For backwashing instructions, please see our FAQ page.

The resin inside the ShowerStick does not require any special handling and can be disposed of in a standard trash receptacle along with the ShowerStick body and other parts. The KDF filter housing is recyclable and the media inside the filter is environmentally sound and 100 percent recyclable.

Resin beads inside softeners are regenerated with salt water, and saltier water feels more slippery, like the feel of ocean water on your skin. And with the absence of hard water minerals like calcium and magnesium, this effect is more prominent. You may need some time to get used to it if you’ve never had a softener before. Although it feels like soaps are difficult to wash away since your skin feels “slick” or “slippery”, your skin is actually rinsed of soap right away.

According to the USGS Water Science School, “When using soft water, your skin has that slippery feeling even after extensive rinsing. You might think you cannot rinse off all the soap on your skin, but actually you are cleaner than if you used hard water! You are feeling hydrated skin, not skin with a soapy residue.” https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-chemical-soap.html

A good way to prove this is by doing the bathtub test. If you take a bath and wash with soap in hard water versus soft water, you’ll end up with a bathtub ring if you use hard water but not if you use soft water. This is explained in more detail on Culligan Water’s website: https://www.culliganmidmissouri.com/resources/water-quality/why-is-soft-water-so-slippery/

Also, when using soft water you should use about 50% less soap and shampoo since they lather that much better in soft water. Most soaps and shampoos are made to be used with hard water since most people have hard water. To get these soaps to lather well in hard water, harsh chemicals are added to them such as sulfates. But when you have soft water, you don’t need these added chemicals since these products lather much better in soft water. So, it’s recommended that soap bars with natural ingredients or clear liquid soaps that are free of perfumes, dyes and other harsh chemicals are used with soft water. Here’s a source for more information about this: https://www.martinwater.com/service-tips/how-to-use-soft-water/

If you installed a flow control valve, please check to be sure it isn’t set to the off position. If this isn’t the issue, please contact us.

We only sell wholesale direct to you via our website.

We’re very sorry, but we don’t currently offer expedited shipping for domestic shipments.

When you turn your water back on after its been off for maintenance, repairs, etc., it usually comes through in a high pressure spray. This can cause any dirt, sediment, etc. in the plumbing system to break free and cause clogs/blockages in your fixtures. For this reason, it’s important to first turn the water on at all faucets except the one where your ShowerStick is located (or, you can remove the ShowerStick and KDF filter (if installed) prior to the water being turned off). Leave the faucets on until the water runs clear. If you forget to do this, then you should backwash the resin inside the ShowerStick, the media inside the KDF filter (if installed) and clean out your shower head, hose, and mount. Backwashing instructions can be found at the bottom of this page.

If you drank an 8 oz. glass of softened water you’d consume approximately 12.5 mg of sodium (approx. 200 mg per gallon). By comparison, 1 Alka Seltzer tablet contains 445 mg of sodium and one can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup contains about 2225 mg of sodium. However, you aren’t using the water from the ShowerStick as your drinking water. Therefore, only very trace amounts of sodium seep into your skin when showering in softened water.